WASHINGTON — A pair of prominent Republican House members are scheduled to hold discussions with Taiwan’s opposition party leader during her Washington visit this week, as China closely watches the Trump administration’s approach toward the island territory that Beijing claims as its own.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., have arranged meetings with Cheng Li-wun, who heads the Kuomingtang Party and advocates for peaceful reunification between Taiwan and Beijing.
During an interview, Mast explained he had no particular agenda for his session with Cheng, noting that as Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, “I take intelligence from anywhere I can get.”
A representative for Kim, who chairs a subcommittee focused on East Asian policy matters, indicated the congresswoman intends to urge Cheng and her political party to back increased defense expenditures as an “important demonstration of Taiwan’s commitment to self-defense and deterrence.”
Last month, Taiwan’s opposition-dominated legislature approved a $25 billion emergency defense budget designated for significant U.S. weapons acquisitions. Officials in the Trump administration voiced frustration that the final approved sum represents a substantial decrease from Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s initial $40 billion request.
Kim additionally seeks to address Cheng’s April meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “seek greater clarity on the substance of those discussions,” according to Ellie Gilchrist, the congresswoman’s spokesperson.
Cheng’s Washington trip occurs while President Donald Trump publicly contemplates the possibility of conducting a direct conversation with his Taiwanese counterpart.
The U.S. president has suggested his desire to communicate with Lai while his administration weighs whether to proceed with a $14 billion weapons sale to Taipei that received congressional approval earlier this year but remains suspended.
Trump stated last month upon his return to the U.S. from China that he plans to speak with Lai, which would mark the first direct communication between current U.S. and Taiwanese presidents in multiple decades. China has opposed such contact.
“I’ll always talk to him,” Trump informed reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday when questioned about whether he continues to consider a telephone conversation with Lai.
